The Abia State Statistician General, Mr Nnanna Eze, adds the prefix ‘Sir’ when speaking about our divinely ordained Governor, Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu. This is for two main reasons: out of a deep respect for our Governor and secondly because the “SIR Principle” is yielding dividends. Being the acronym for Strategy, Implementation and Results. This SIR principle represents the ideals of the Abia State Bureau of Statistics.
The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are the engine of job creation Nigeria. With so much emphasis on government as panacea to our economic and other difficulties, small businesses are often underestimated because, they are in fact, small. The truth is, there is nothing small about the cumulative impact they have on the Abian economy in particular and Nigeria in general. According to the 2013 Small & Medium Scale Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) collaborative survey, there are over 37 million MSMEs in Nigeria that contribute almost 50% of GDP in nominal terms and account for 84.02% of all Nigerian jobs.
If you want to become rich, build a road first – Chairman Mao. Good road network is pivotal to MSME, this is why it scores major points during analysis in the “ease of doing business” in a state or country. Little wonder, our divinely ordained Governor is aggressively building new roads and maintaining old ones because of his heart desires to see his people, the good people of Abia State prosper. In statistical parlance, to grow the gross domestic product of the state. 1% increase in infrastructure stock results in a 1% increase in GDP – World Bank.
PPP is “The design, build, finance and operation, by the private sector, of assets and services that the government has traditionally procured and provided to the community and which have previously been funded by taxpayers. In return, the private sector generates revenue either from the levying of tariffs on users or the receipt of periodic service payments from the government over the life of the PPP agreement”, KPMG.
It is therefore a co-operative venture for the provision of infrastructure or services, built on the expertise of each partner that best meets clearly defined public needs, through the most appropriate allocation of resources, risks, and rewards. The public sector maintains ownership, oversight and quality assessment role, while the private sector is more closely involved in the actual delivery of the service or project.
All PP partnerships have a unique risk/reward allocation. PPP can be categorized based on the extent of public and private sector involvement and the degree of risk allocation between the two. Public-private partnerships can take many forms including: Service Contract (O&M); Design/Build/Operate; Concession/Lease; Finance, Design Build and Operate; Own and Operate; Asset Sale/ Transfer; Other combinations.
The key PPP principles in Abia State are:
Value for Money: The project appraisal will take account not only of cost but also risks and service quality.
Public interest: Adequate and prior consultation with end-users and other stakeholders of an infrastructure project should be the standard.
Output requirements: The concept of “verifiable service standards” to be used as basis for output or performance based specifications.
Transparency: The programme needs to have fiscal discipline and high standards of public and corporate governance to enhance its credibility, as transparency and probity can reduce concerns over corruption.
Risk allocation: Risks will be allocated to the party best able to manage them.
Competition: The benefits of private sector participation in infrastructure are increased by ensuring that business activities are subject to competition and appropriate commercial pressures, dismantling unnecessary barriers to entry, and implementing and enforcing adequate competition laws.
Capacity to deliver: Authorities responsible for privately operated infrastructure must have the capacity to manage the commercial processes involved and to partner on equal basis with their private sector counterparts.
Provided by the ICRC Act 2005: Establishment of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission. (Sec 14. 1).
Work Done/Work in Progress.
Nigeria road network is about 200,000 km and carries 95% of passengers and goods.
Draft Bill to deregulate, and introduce private sector participation, tariff for usage, fund for road maintenance, and Federal Roads Authority is awaiting accent.
PPP initiatives include:
Construction of major bridges on toll/BOT basis.
PPP on major highways on DBMOT basis.
Output and performance based (OPBC) basis.
Performance Based Maintenance Management.
Concessionaires to be introduced to maintain and operate sections of Federal and State highways.
Project Pipeline
Aba-Port Harcourt
Power:
NERC has issued licenses for 20 Independent P
Power:
NERC has issued licenses for 20 Independent Power Plants (IPPs).
Abia state government is considering developing own IPPs
Abia vision is hinged on the tripod of good governance, a dynamic but stable and rapidly growing economy, and environmental sustainability. Our divinely ordained Governor, “SIR” Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu is committed to pro poor development and attaining the position of one of the 20th largest state economies in the world by the year 2020 (vision 20-20-20) through strengthening institutions and systems, particular markets and economic governance structures, promote private sector leadership of the economy by ensuring that the public sector provides the enabling environment, enhance State savings and investment to the level necessary for sustaining desired growth.
Power:
NERC has issued licenses for 20 Independent Power Plants (IPPs).
Abia state government is considering developing own IPPs
Abia vision is hinged on the tripod of good governance, a dynamic but stable and rapidly growing economy, and environmental sustainability. Our divinely ordained Governor, “SIR” Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu is committed to pro poor development and attaining the position of one of the 20th largest state economies in the world by the year 2020 (vision 20-20-20) through strengthening institutions and systems, particular markets and economic governance structures, promote private sector leadership of the economy by ensuring that the public sector provides the enabling environment, enhance State savings and investment to the level necessary for sustaining desired growth.
Power:
NERC has issued licenses for 20 Independent Power Plants (IPPs).
Abia state government is considering developing own IPPs
Abia vision is hinged on the tripod of good governance, a dynamic but stable and rapidly growing economy, and environmental sustainability. Our divinely ordained Governor, “SIR” Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu is committed to pro poor development and attaining the position of one of the 20th largest state economies in the world by the year 2020 (vision 20-20-20) through strengthening institutions and systems, particular markets and economic governance structures, promote private sector leadership of the economy by ensuring that the public sector provides the enabling environment, enhance State savings and investment to the level necessary for sustaining desired growth.
Power:
NERC has issued licenses for 20 Independent Power Plants (IPPs).
Abia state government is considering developing own IPPs
Abia vision is hinged on the tripod of good governance, a dynamic but stable and rapidly growing economy, and environmental sustainability. Our divinely ordained Governor, “SIR” Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu is committed to pro poor development and attaining the position of one of the 20th largest state economies in the world by the year 2020 (vision 20-20-20) through strengthening institutions and systems, particular markets and economic governance structures, promote private sector leadership of the economy by ensuring that the public sector provides the enabling environment, enhance State savings and investment to the level necessary for sustaining desired growth.
Ebiri-Okoro Ikenna is Media Assistant at State Bureau Of Statistics.
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